Bisho appointed administrator, Pam Yako, bids Makana residents farewell under a cloud of uncertainty as some people battle to see any progress during her nine-month stay in Makana.
Bisho appointed administrator, Pam Yako, bids Makana residents farewell under a cloud of uncertainty as some people battle to see any progress during her nine-month stay in Makana.
DA Caucus leader, Les Reynolds, acknowledged Yako's efforts to turn Makana around, but said she hadn't taken any decisive steps to rid the municipality of corruption.
Reynolds said Yako leaves Makana without a CFO or a municipal manager. He said nobody had been fired during the nine months she was at the helm.
In her parting words, Yako said the estimated cost of restoring Makana's water and sanitation infrastructure is estimated at R400 million.
"This level of funding cannot be raised from our own budget and hence the need to raise funds for this programme," she said.
A big challenge that she leaves hanging over the Council is the municipality's long list of litigation.
She says this has taken a lot of her time, as the it owes creditors in excess of R100m.
Some creditors have decided to take the municipality to court and the it is inundated with litigation against it.
"To fully address this problem is going to require some level of financial injection, as it is difficult to fund it solely from current funds," she said.
Yako has noted some progress with the municipality's collection rate.
"There has been a slight improvement in revenue collection (2-5%) however there is still a long way to go."
She acknowledged the Eastern Cape Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has assisted with R26 million to pay creditors and to clear some of the Eskom debt and that this did alleviate the pressure a little bit.
She also acknowledged the fact that the intervention had failed to fill the municipal manager and CFO posts.
However, she said the posts have been advertised and are ready for short listing.
anele@grocotts.co.za
